Winner was born in
Somerville, New Jersey and, during
World War II, flew seventeen missions in a
B-17 Flying Fortress plane, spending six weeks in a German
prisoner of war camp. Upon his release from the service he played running back at
Washington University in St. Louis, where
Weeb Ewbank was head coach. After Ewbank moved on to coach for the
Cleveland Browns, Winner took an assistant position with the nearby
Case Tech Rough Riders, present-day
Case Western Reserve University, while also serving as a scout for the
Cleveland Browns. In 1950, he married Ewbank's daughter, Nancy. When Ewbank was hired as head coach of the
Baltimore Colts in 1954, Winner went along and helped the team capture NFL titles in both 1958 and 1959. At the conclusion of the
1962 NFL season, Ewbank was dismissed, but Winner stayed under new coach
Don Shula from 1963 to 1965. On February 10, 1966, Winner was hired as head coach of the
St. Louis Cardinals. In five seasons at the helm, Winner managed a 35–30–5 record, but after failing to reach the postseason, he was fired on January 6, 1971. The Cardinals posted winning records in three of Winner's five seasons with the Cardinals but fell short of the playoffs each time. In 1966 the Cardinals won their first five games, but they then lost four of their last five games to finish at 8–5–1 and in fourth place in the NFL East Division. In 1968, St. Louis finished a half game behind the
Cleveland Browns (9–4–1 to 10–4) in the NFL Century Division despite sweeping both regular-season meetings with the Browns. In 1970 St. Louis rolled to an 8–2–1 record at the end of November, including three consecutive shutouts over the
Houston Oilers (44–0),
Boston Patriots (31–0), and
Dallas Cowboys (38–0, on
Monday Night Football in Dallas). With the
NFC East championship in sight, however, the Cardinals stumbled in December, losing to the
Detroit Lions,
New York Giants and
Washington Redskins to finish at 8–5–1 and third place in the division behind Dallas and the Giants. Winner was soon hired by
George Allen of the
Washington Redskins. Winner worked two years for the Redskins, helping them reach the
NFL playoffs during each season and their first
Super Bowl berth ever in 1972. On February 1, 1973, he rejoined Ewbank as an assistant with the Jets and was also designated his successor following the end of the
1973 NFL season. Winner struggled to achieve success with the Jets, finishing 7–7 in 1974, having won the last six games in a row after winning just once in the first eight. The following year saw the team win only two of the first nine games, a decline that resulted in his dismissal on November 19, three days after a 52–19 loss to the Colts. Two months later, Winner was hired as an assistant with the
Cincinnati Bengals, spending the next four years with the team before once again being fired following the
1979 NFL season. Renewing acquaintances with Don Shula in 1981, Winner was hired to serve as player personnel director for the
Miami Dolphins. He spent two years in that role before shifting to pro personnel, performing many of the same duties as a general manager, especially negotiating player contracts. On June 1, 1992, he announced his retirement. ==Death==